I have a theory that toddlers are cute because of an evolutionary defense mechanism that keeps parents from killing them. My son has been saying a lot of cute things lately to balance out the parts of the day where his stubbornness drives me crazy.

One major source of cuteness is in his pronunciations – or mispronunciations – of words. Many of the times his Ts sound like Ds, which I think is typical for a toddler. So he says things like “Dis� instead of “This.� For some reason this is cute. I’m not sure why.

There are a couple of words that he has major trouble with. They are “barbeque� and “okra.� If I say them first he can repeat them after me perfectly. But if he comes up with them on his own, perhaps in an attempt to select a restaurant for dinner, he will say, “garbage cube� and “frecko.� Now, garbage cube I kind of get, but frecko? That’s just weird. Yesterday he was driving his trains around and they were stopping to get “garbage cube.� Very cute!

One of his favorite words to use is “probably,� which sounds a lot like “probby.� Ls are not his strong suit – in fact, laundry sort of sounds like “jaundry�. Anyway, he uses “probby� a lot in sentences like “Boo boo probby get better,� or “Probby go bookstore.� “Probby� goes along with “We’ll see,� as in the following common conversation:

He says, “Probby go bookstore.�
I say, “No, I don’t think so.�
He says, “We’ll see.�

He already has to have the last word…

I’m really impressed that at two-and-a-half he really understands pronouns. That’s a hard concept to get. He doesn’t necessarily use them in a traditionally structured sentence. A minute ago he said, “I hurt me my finger.� Not exactly correct, but pretty good.

My son has learned that some words are more powerful than others. Recently he learned to say, “I have a question.� I must have impressed upon him that when I have a question for him I want his attention because he is really saying it a lot. The first time he said it, he was trying to delay bedtime.

As I was walking out of his door he said, “Mama, I have a question.�
I stopped, surprised. “What is your question?�
He said, “Close closet door.�
I closed the door, said my goodbyes and started to leave.
“I have another question,� he said.
“What is your question, honey?�
He said, “Close dat closet door.� He pointed to his chest of drawers, which had a few drawers ajar.
I closed them and said my goodbyes again.
I was almost out the door and then: “Mama, I have another question.�
Sigh.
“What is your question?�
“No ants? No bees?�
Apparently he wanted me to check his bed for various critters. This has turned out to be his only question every night since then, presumably because I close the closet and drawers preemptively.

Now every night after answering the same question a couple of times, I tell him to ask the stuffed toys that sleep with him. So as I leave his room I often hear him say, “Spiderman, no ants? No bees?�

The other day he tried to use the power of the question to get some attention when it wasn’t bedtime. He came into the room as I worked on the computer and said grandly, “Mama, I have a question.� To which I of course replied, “What is your question?� At this point I think he realized that he was unprepared. He put his index finger to his mouth and said, “Hmmmmmm.� He never did come up with a question, but I got a good laugh out of it.

He’s also learned how to show affection and concern. He greets me most mornings with “Good morning, Mama. Have a good nap?� When we see each other after being separated, he often says, “So glad to see you!� and “Have a good day?� I’ve heard him have these same conversations with pets that he particularly likes, especially the neighbor’s cat that has adopted us. Best of all, he says, “I love you,� and “I love you too,� which are probably the sweetest things any child could ever say.

A few “I love yous� and it’s hard to remember why they made you so mad in the first place.

What cute things does your toddler say?